High Tide Web

by Jason James

Many thousands of people making a living both buying & selling on eBay. Currently ranked as the 37 biggest site on the net (according to Alexa figures) eBay shows no signs of slowing down, even fortune 500 companies are opening eBay shops to sell surplus & unwanted stock. The following are five resources that I use personally & encourage you to use them to increase your eBay profits with ease.

Reports show that over 90% of searches on eBay are done using the search facility. What users do not know about eBays search factility is that by default it only searches the item titles – not the descriptions of the items. Remember this fact as it will show the significance of some of the resources listed below.

1) FatFingers

How professional a seller are you? Do you check your listings before submitting them or even does someone else proof read them for you? With millions of listings on eBays networks of sites at any one time, a small proportion of these listings contain errors – & a misspelt word is about the biggest error you can make.

Imagine your selling a Sony Television for example. What if you misspell the item as Sony Televisoin. Anyone who searches for the term “Sony Television” simply isn’t going to be presented with your item. Only those eBayers who search manually though the category will find your items. Needless to say that if people can’t find your item, they’re unable to bid on them.

FatFingers is a service you can use to find all misspelt variations of a term. Why would you need such a service?

Well obviously if an item has low visibility on eBay it’s also likely to have zero or few bids enabling you to snap yourself up a bargain. I’ve known people use this service to make a full time living, purely buying items cheaply and relisting them without errors.

Details at: Fatfingers.com

2) eBay Pulse

Back to the search facility eBay pulse shows you the top 10 searched keywords in every category. It’s a real gem of a service, obviously by looking at the most widely used search terms you can see what eBayers are after. And if your selling in this category, by inserting some of these keywords within your title your items will be seen by more users.

The only thing to watch out with this service is make sure the keywords are relevant to your item, IF NOT DON’T USE THEM. How many times have you saw listings such as “SONY PANASONIC LG WIDESCREEN DIGITAL TELEVISION GUIDE”, – listings such as these are well thought out to earn high visibility from the way users search. Anyone searching for the items with any of the keywords will uncover your listings.

While it may lead to a high number of views, firstly fellow users will get annoyed if they find your item completely unrevealed to what they searched for, Secondly keyword spamming as it is known, is against eBay policy and will lead to your item being pulled. I use pulse daily with all my listings but make sure it’s relevant to your item first.

Details at: pulse.ebay.com

3) Keyword-Pro

Keyword-Pro is a commercial subscription service which is similar to eBay pulse. However, the main difference is Keyword-Pro offers a much more in depth list of relevant keywords. It lists the top 50 keywords for every category for both eBay.co.uk & eBay.com. This is a great addition, especially if any of the terms found in eBay pulse are not relevant to your item.

Keyword-Pro is available as both a web service or as a small program that downloads the list onto your P.C. It’s data is updated weekly to keep you informed of the latest search terms.

Details at Trading-Web-Solutions.com/keywords

4) Selling Manager

When you first open a selling account on eBay, options listed under the sell tab of eBay are enough to get you by. However, you can upgrade to a more in depth service known as Selling Manager. As eBay describes the service “eBay Selling Manager is our online sales management tool for medium to high volume sellers”. It allows you to track every eBay sale, customise your feedback comments, print shipping labels & much more. It saves me about four hours a week tracking orders and watching my sales.

Selling Manager is FREE on eBay.co.uk & has a small monthly charge of on eBay.com (after one a month trial free). Once I moved over to Selling Manager, there’s simply no way I would go back.

Details at: Click on services once you’ve logged into your eBay account.

5) eBay Popular Products

Here you can see, directly from eBay, what the most popular products are in several categories. an invaluable tool for an eBay seller.

Details at: http://product-index.ebay.com/best_selling_1.html

I hope you find these services useful & time saving in your goal for a successful home business on eBay. Remember, your most important resource is your time when your starting or building up an online business & if you discover any site, person or opportunity that can save you time give it the attention & serious consideration it deserves. Every top Internet marketers constantly educate themselves by purchasing & reviewing almost every new product released. The way I look at it, if an ebook costs $197 and the information within the ebook saves me this or allows me to make an additional $197 it’s well worth it – once you can do it once you’ll be able to repeat the exercise over and over again making repeated profits. If you discover a precious eBay related resource let me know & I’ll consider revising this list for future editions.

Good luck with your eBay selling.

Copyright 2005 Auction Resource Network

About the Author:
Jason James’ website “The Auction Resource Network” reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay. Claim your FREE 14 Day “Learn How to Sell on eBay” e-Course Here:

http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

USA Today.com has an article dealing with hurricane cyberscams. Doesn’t it make you sick that such an article even has a need to exist. Says a lot about the damage greed will do to what’s left of someone’s character.

Joi
Hightide-Web.com

You’ve just gotta love Google. They didn’t coin the phrase, “Don’t let any grass grow under your feet.” – they live it!

Maybe that’s why their view of the rest of the world involves a downward glance.

Here’s a link to a review of what they’re into now: Google Talk works well but lacks some features.

Give to the Red Cross. Give until it hurts.

Joi
Hightide-Web

How To Create A Website In Less Than A Week

By: Andre Grisby

Here’s a really simple way… any novice can create a fully functional website in less than a week.

Websites are the wave of the future. Although many companies are using an online presence to drive business to their brick and mortar stores, many hobbyists also tend to have a bit of interest in developing their own online presence as well. Developing a website from scratch can be rather expensive, but armed with the right tools, and given a little instruction, anyone can develop a professional website in less than a week.

One thing you must always remember is that anyone trying to do a particular job should be armed with the right tools. Having the right tools will definitely make your project a bit easier to complete.

I guess you are scratching your head wondering what type of tools I would be talking about. You see when you are developing a website, you become a builder, a painter, or an artist. You are taking an idea from your head and transforming it into a digital image so to speak. Just as if you were going to build a home from the ground up, take a paint brush and create a masterpiece painting, or take a piece of clay and create a winning statue, you need the right tools to do the right job.

The tools I’m referring to are web graphics software, web design software, and ftp (file transfer protocol)software. These are tools are a must if you want to get off on the right foot. There are so many of these types of programs that you must really do your homework in order to purchase the one the best fits your needs. Some of these programs can even be downloaded for free. Each program focuses on a particular task. The graphics software helps you create images for your website from scratch. The web design software in short helps you to design and build a website from scratch. The file transfer protocol software is you link to sending your completed web pages from you computer to the internet. [Continue]

Read what happens when Google parties: Keeping enemies close at the Google Dance

Google Sitemaps is a simple and fast way for your site to be constantly indexed and updated by Google.

This article will discuss the benefits of implementing this new technology, who should use it, how it works and how to create a Google Sitemap for your web site. More…

by: Jesse S. Somer

‘Bad blogs have got to go, blogging could be really cool if done properly, maybe even with a pinch of love.’

There’s a lot of blogs out there on the Web, most of which don’t entice one to go back regularly to read updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make them ‘good’ blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities. So let’s look at the problem like we were children. Children don’t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about a subject.

First of all, we should ask the questions,” Why do blogs exist? And what are they here for?” Well, in an ideal world ‘good’ blogs would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that they’d be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a select group of friends. The key is speaking in a way that is understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally short and concise.

Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they’ll want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on ‘your world’. Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start communities with others you’ve never met, based on your interests. Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.

I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal to be ‘good’ reading. Of course we all have ideas about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul is imperative for the connection with others that you’re looking for. Share yourself; don’t hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment. In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It’s the same in the ‘virtual’ world; people want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from egos that don’t want to hear the ‘other side of the coin’.

Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there, and here I’m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of ‘bad’ writing. In my next article I’ll attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven’t come across as too judgmental, I just truly believe the ‘blog world’ could become a real asset to humanity, and at the moment it’s missing the mark.

Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus (varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the basics.

By Jesse S. Somer

Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia’s Dreamweaver aren’t the only HTML editors on the market. In fact, niche HTML editors from various independent developer offer a number of advantages over the big boys.

SiteSpinner

SiteSpinner is a user-friendly web site development tool that includes many advanced features such as drag-and-drop positioning, built in FTP to publish directly to your web site, an image editor and graphics creation all in one. With SiteSpinner, objects can be placed wherever you want them with your mouse. Not only that, you can place objects so they are always centered, or automatically scale to fit your visitors browser. The Text Editor works like a word processor, allowing you to change font, size and color. Add links and spell-check your work. Add titles and you have a professional page. The drag-and-drop Table Editor lets you quickly organize your information. Text, pictures, or any object can easily be dragged into position, and your table’s properties can be set the way you want them.

Full review posted at

http://www.deprice.com/sitespinner.htm

NoteTab Pro

NoteTab Pro is a leading-edge text editor and HTML coding tool, and an ideal Notepad replacement. Winner of top shareware industry awards since 1998, this elegant application does it all: you can handle multiple large files with a simple tabbed interface, use a spell-checker and thesaurus, format text, use multiple undo, and bookmark documents. You can build templates, use powerful system-wide searches, and do global multi-line replacements.

Full review posted at

http://www.deprice.com/notetabpro.htm

CoffeeCup HTML Editor

The CoffeeCup HTML Editor is 2 Editors in 1. If you know HTML or want to learn more use the powerful and easy Code Editor that has set the standard since 1996. To make pages fast, or without knowing HTML use the drag and drop WYSIWYG Visual Editor. You can also go back and forth between the Code and Visual Editors to create remarkable Websites in a snap. CoffeeCup comes with more than 100 DHTML & Javascripts, a DHTML Menu wizard, 25,000 Graphics and Photos including over 1,000 XP Style Icons and access to over 500 Free Website Templates. It also has Built-in FTP Uploading and easy to use Table, Frame, Font, and Form Designers.

Full review posted at http://www.deprice.com/coffeecuphtmleditor.htm

CodeLock 2.0

Codelock encrypts PHP and any HTML generated by your PHP scripts.
You can password protect your scripts, create an expiry time or unlock key, lock to IP or URL and more. The Encryptor software works with any install of PHP4.x or better. Requires no additional software to be installed (on your server or on your clients server) – Codelock V2 is ISP friendly. Works both on your ‘localhost’ server OR online via HTTP Works on Linux, Windows and FreeBSD operating systems. Requires no changes to the web server (with default PHP installation). Works in PHP safe mode and with globals off (except when encrypting from zip files). Encrypts PHP or HTML files (including HTML or javascript embedded into PHP). Encrypts HTML web pages as an added extra Offers ZLIB compression as part of the encryption. Your PHP pages can be compressed to approximately 1/3 of their file size.

Full review available at

http://www.deprice.com/codelock.htm

By: David D. Deprice

By Syd Johnson

A professional or business site is one where the primary purpose of the site is to facilitate business transactions. You can sell items directly online or exclusively offline, but the result is the same. You want customers to buy products and/or service directly from you.

To create a domain name for this type of website here are a few guidelines:

Shorter is better

Make the name easy to pronounce

Think long term

Stick to Categories and Topics

Do a trademark search

Always have a tag line

Shorter is better

If you want to make real money online, try to keep your domain name as short as possible. In the online world, the choices of where to shop and get information is overwhelming. A shorter name will instantly be memorable. It is always easier to remember short words and phrases. A shorter name is good for word of mouth advertising online and offline. Customers can easily remember the the URL and therefore they’re more likely to pass it on and return to the website. The name will also stand out when it is printed on brochures, business cards and other business collateral. Liz, Dick, Kate, Feds are all examples of our incessant need to reduce every term in the English language to three syllables or less.

Easy to Pronounce

If you want a short name, you must be very creative. To be creative and strategic make sure that your domain name is easy to pronounce. It is perfectly acceptable to create a name from scratch, but it must sound like a real word when you try to say out loud. Any three or four syllable term will do a long as it easily rolls off the tongue. If you are at a loss for words, try writing a description of your product or service on paper.

This is a very easy way to come up with those little words that you can use without losing the meaning of what you’re trying to say. You can also use a dictionary and a thesaurus to come up with additional words. You can also choose a longer word but shorten it or use acronyms only. When you decide on a domain name, say it out loud a few times. If it doesn’t sound right, go back to the dictionary and try again.

Think long term

You want a domain name that will last a very long time. If you pick a name that is a slang term or too cutesy, you could find yourself looking for a new name in a year or two. This is not the best way to proceed. Once you build a certain level of online success, the traffic will follow the domain name. You don’t want to mess with your brand and your online reputation with redirects and ‘we have moved’ notices. Online customer will buy, but only if your site makes it convenient for them to do so. If you don’t see yourself using the same domain name three to four years from now, get a new name before you set up your website.

Trademark Searches

Do a trademark search. If you build up your online business and domain name, you don’t want to find a court order ordering you to give it up because it belongs to another company. Remember, the traffic and therefore your sales will follow the domain name to the new company.

To do a quick trademark search go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) for domestic searches and the International Trademark Association (http://www.inta.org) for international searches. If your name is cleared, then consider getting a trademark to protect your business.

Tag line

Tag lines are the work horses of the marketing industry. An interesting, professional tag line can bring you more word of mouth advertising than you can ever buy from a search engine company. It will bring your name into random conversations in newsgroups, newsletters and casual conversations. This can help you save money on paid advertising and create the ultimate viral marketing campaign without very little effort.

Keep these six tips handy to brand your domain name and bring in more site traffic.

About The Author:
Syd Johnson is the Executive Editor of RapidLingo.com, Financial Solutions Website. You can see more articles at http://www.rapidlingo.com.

Is your momentum in need of a little firing up? We know someone who can fix you up – make that fire you up.

There’s nothing to buy, so there’s no sales pitching. (No one’s even in the bull pen.) Stephen Pierce is just at it again……flaunting his flare with flair, pushing the pioneering envelope, waxing creatively brilliant and brilliantly creative. You know, that sort of thing.

Judging by the first video, we’re in for quite a ride. And we can’t wait to see where it takes us!